Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus, c. 81 B.C. Silver denarius serratus Rome mint, weight 3.902g, maximum diameter 19.6mm Obverse: HISPAN downward behind, veiled head of Hispania right with disheveled hair; reverse togate figure standing left, extending hand toward legionary eagle before him, fasces and axe behind, A• / ALBIN / N•S• vertical downward in fields from left to right, POST A•F• in exergue; Crawford 372/2, Sydenham 746, RSC I Postumia 8, BMCRR I Rome 2839, RBW Collection 1393, SRCV I 297 Note: gVF, dark toning, part of reverse not fully struck, tight flan cutting of exergue The above coin has a very fascinating reverse theme. On the reverse we see a togate Roman citizen taking his oath before a legionary eagle, with the fasces of the praetor L. Postumius Albinus right behind, as a symbol of the total authority the general had over his soldiers upon the taking of the oath of service. As a citizen, a Roman had the right to not be whipped, the right to appeal to a magistrate, and the right to make decisions over his wife and children. However, once a soldier, the citizen was now bound to the legion, and he could be harshly disciplined for insubordination, theft, cowardice in combat, etc., including being flogged, decimated, or summarily executed. This is the moment a citizen goes from enjoying his freedoms and privilege as a Roman citizen, and becomes another cog in the Roman military machine. On the obverse we see Hispania, representing the military campaigns of the praetor L. Postumius Albinus against the Vaccaei and Lusitani tribes in the Iberian peninsula in the early 2nd Century BCE, for which he was awarded a triumph. Roman Hispania (early 2nd Cent. BCE) POST ANYTHING RELEVANT
I don't think it's the same one who adopted Decimus - Wikipedia has Decimus being adopted by a consul of 99 BC (similar name, though): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postumia_(gens) Decimus Brutus issued coins - this one shows the consul (his adoptive father, I suppose) - Cr. 450/3b. The more famous Brutus (two Brutus among the assassins) may or may not be depicted on this coin - Cr. 515/2 - I only have a crappy fourrée and of course no Eid Mar! ATB, Aidan.
You are right, I did more research and it's another guy with the same exact name (they must have been very close relatives, but definitely not the adopted father of Brutus). I edited the OP as to not mislead people. Figuring out who is who with Romans is very hard because of how formulaic their names were. When you have 4 people of the same family with near identical names (or identical) living at the same time, and they are all doing important things, figuring out the right guy is no easy feat.
Yes - throw in adoptions and name changes as well and it's all but unfathomable! "I'm Spartacus!" mightn't have been far off ATB, Aidan.
Very nice new capture @Sallent ! Not sure I have anything very relevant...how about a semis? Roman Republican, Hispania AE, semis, 8.6g, 23mm; 2h; Hispania, 1st century BC Obv.: Laureate head of Saturn right; S (mark of value) behind Rev.: Prow left, S (mark of value) above In Ex.: ROMA
How about this, post whatever you like. That's a beautiful bronze. Here's my only RR bronze.... Roman Republic, Second Punic War, 215 - 212 BC AE Sextans, Sardinia (?) Mint, 17mm, 2.37 grams Obverse: Head of Mercury right wearing winged petasus. Reverse: Prow of galley left, ROMA above, two pellets below. Crawford56/6
I'm surprised more people don't have a specimen of the OP coin, or another coin from this coiner. Not like they are particularly rare...but seriously folks, share whatever you'd like. This thread feels a little empty. We need more coins!
I love that second type with the sacrificial bull. I'm going to have to be on the lookout for one. Over the past few months I've massively increased my Roman Republic and Greek collections. They are now 42% of my entire collection. Only 8 months ago RR and Greek made up only 25% of my collection. While I am still deeply in love with Roman imperial coins and provincials, I think the aesthetics and quality of my collection has improved massively with my recent focus on Roman Republic and Greek.
I picked up this one at the NAC Auction 114. With these European auctions I prefer to use the live bidding feature which means up a 3 AM and staying up with short cat naps through the morning. This auction was a bit frustrating as the first group of coins I was interested in were from Korinth and they went very high. I regrouped in the Roman Republic area only to be outbid on other coins that I had wanted. I saw this one and thought why not I like the type. This one was the first coin I was successful in getting. After processing the coin I discovered that it is RBW 1393 (this coin)
I had one of the bull sacrificing types which I consigned to AMCC 1. I believe it was a member here who bought it (for a very nice price, IMO).
